Cats were eating Pa. man, 74, found dead with mom

July 07, 2010

ALBION, Pa. (AP) — Humane officials removed a dozen cats from a northwestern Pennsylvania home where a deputy coroner says the animals started eating the foot of an elderly man found dead there with his mother.

Erie County Deputy Coroner Korac Timon says 74-year-old Herbert Walden likely died of a heart attack in Albion, several days before his body was found Saturday. His 94-year-old mother, Jane Walden, was also found dead.

The coroner says Jane Walden likely died of dehydration sometime after her son died. The woman relied on her son's care and their trash-filled home didn't have running water.

Joe Grisanti, executive director of the Human Society of Northwestern Pennsylvania, says crews removed a dozen cats from the home on Tuesday. They also found four more dead cats and a dead dog in the residence.